Stop objecting to affordable housing developments in Dublin.

You objected to Balmoston.

There were 83 affordable homes; social as well. The Deputy is a good objector.

I thank the Deputy for his question. I welcome the publication of the Climate Change Advisory Council's annual sectoral review of the transport sector. I recently met with the council and, separately, with its chair, Marie Donnelly. We had a very constructive discussion. My Department and I will be reviewing this report and its recommendations. I certainly will take them into account as we update our approach to the next iteration of the climate action plan later this year, which will be its 26th iteration. The ann…

I said last week that I am reviewing the EV grants. We have made significant progress. The Deputy referred to the reduction in growth in that sector last year but he did not mention that quarter 1 of this year saw a significant rebound in EV sales and registrations. Today, I brought to Government a policy on renewable fuels for transport, which sets out the ambition in this regard. It takes into account the sustainability issues the CCAC has, rightly, highlighted. No one is denying, in any way, shape or form, the c…

We are trying to cover a lot in a short time. We will have a chance to go through a lot of these points in more detail at the transport committee, which is meeting tomorrow, and at the environment committee. Regarding EV charging, under the motorway infrastructure scheme, 131 additional high-powered charging points across 17 different locations on the motorway network will be delivered by the end of this year. There is also a scheme to fund high-powered charging on national primary routes, with 175 high-powered cha…

I thank the Deputy for his question on what is a real and important issue for public transport users. We debated it in some detail yesterday. Particularly among those who do not use public transport often, they can have a certain perception of the level of safety on it. To the Deputy's specific question, antisocial behaviour is a broad societal issue to which public transport is not immune. It is those passengers and staff who regularly use and work within our public transport network who are most directly impacted…

I agree on that point. An Garda Síochána is doing a good job already. The Deputy will be aware of Operation Saul. That is under way. To take the Dublin metropolitan region, the area in which we have the best data in this regard, as an example, there are gardaí delivering both overt and covert policing on bus, Luas, DART and other train services. In 2024, the operation resulted in 754 arrests, 1,289 charges preferred and 280 summonses. Between 1 January 2025 and 21 March 2025, there were 194 arrests and 381 charges …

We have a public transport safety working group on which unions, workers and operators are represented. I have met these representatives. We will be discussing this in more detail. I assure the Deputy that, when the proposals in this regard become clear, I will be seeking their input. I do not have an exact timeframe for the Deputy. Suffice it to say that this is an important priority. We first have to agree the way forward as regards the structure of the force. It will operate under the NTA but we need to consider…

The Taoiseach is not here.

Thanks.

We will all be travelling on buses together soon. I use the bus a lot but not in Wicklow. I am aware, as the Deputy obviously is, that Go-Ahead Ireland has experienced difficulties in maintaining service levels, particularly in the first quarter of this year, primarily due to a shortage of mechanics. In response, the company took a number of remedial actions, including bringing in additional mechanics from Britain and securing further technical support from external sources. I understand that the situation has impr…

There is still work to be done. We are adding new routes. As everyone knows, in all sectors, but particularly around drivers and mechanics, there have been shortages of workers because it is a very competitive environment. We have commenced further recruitment across all our transport operators. We started the review in spring. Two of the main reasons for buses not showing up are, one, late notification by operators of cancelled and curtailed services, with that resulting in incorrect information being given to cus…

The transparency around this is there. The operators have to report on service level agreements. When specific issues arise, a lot of the time I see that people will tweet the NTA on X, send emails or whatever. I get text messages regularly, including from my daughter if a bus does not show up when she is travelling to DCU, so I know from my family that this happens from time to time. There can be understandable reasons for this. We need to build up the human resources within each of the operators. Go-Ahead Ireland…

I am aware of the regulations and the legislation. The Chicago convention of 1944 is the main international treaty that governs the operation of international civil aviation. Article 35 of that convention provides that no civil aircraft may carry munitions of war in the sovereign territory of a state without that state's permission. That provision is implemented in Irish law in the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989. Under these orders, the carriage of mu…

A lot has been made of the increased number of exemptions. People try to link that somewhat to the start of the conflict in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza and Israel. From October 2023, there has been an increase in exemptions granted to Irish-registered aircraft operating outside of Ireland. A substantial number of Irish aircraft operate in other territories. This increase is linked to the Scandinavian operation of the SAS Group, particularly SAS Connect, an Irish-based airline. This subsidiary of SAS Group…

When serious allegations and complaints like this are made, I, as Minister, take them seriously. It behoves us to afford the time to carry out a proper investigation and interrogate the data given to us. We are in regular contact with all air operators. With Irish airspace being one of the main entry points across the Atlantic, I instructed Department officials to further remind all air carriers and operators of their responsibilities under international and domestic Irish law and of notification procedures. We rec…

As the Deputy knows, the programme for Government includes a commitment to finalise and publish a policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems, otherwise known as drones. This will guide high-level strategic planning and development of the drone sector in Ireland through supporting growth, which we want, and innovation, which we also want, while ensuring safe and secure operations and managing environmental and other concerns. I am aware that this matter has come up in the Deputy's constituency, especially adjace…

I have not commenced my review. I appreciate the points the Deputy has made and take them into account. I listened with interest to a vox pop in Dublin West. I think it was on FM104 last week when I was in the car. There had been complaints made by some public representatives. Then there were interviews with people on the street in Blanchardstown and many of them had different views on the matter. Having said that, this is a sector that will grow. We are seeing the benefits with respect to the delivery of medical a…

I am happy to engage with both Deputies on the issue of drones. I want to review the draft document and I will engage with them. I am sure we will be talking to the transport committee about that. This type of technology is here to stay. It is about how it interacts with our communities. There are also major benefits. The Ministers of State, Deputies Canney and Buttimer, have informed me about the use of drones in search and rescue. There are lots of good things there. With food deliveries it is generally people in…